BARUCH:

Polish mechanic of the beginning of the eighteenth century; lived in Pogrebishche. He produced two magnificent brass candelabra for the synagogue there, which are still extant. One of them was intended for the Ḥanukkah festival, and has the traditional form of the "menorah"; the other represents an upright, four-cornered tablet, from both sides of which project arms.

Baruch was poor and earned a livelihood by repairing metal-work. For eight years he collected scraps of metal, which he used in the construction of the candelabra, on the work of which he was engaged for six years more.

A prayer-book, written on parchment and decorated with fine arabesques and initials, preserved in the same synagogue, seems to have been the work of a son of Baruch and to have been dedicated to the synagogue.